Love Can Heal Mountains of Hurt
by Adam's Gurl
Summary: This is about a girl named Kaylee Jones coming to ranch just outside of Virginia City. This my first FanFic, so please bear with me!
1. New Girl in Virginia City

It was a sunny morning in western Nevada when Kaylee Jones, more commonly known as Lee, entered Virginia City. Lee was a 25-year-old brunette, wearing the traditional cowboy's outfit; Wranglers, button-up long-sleeved shirt, boots, and a Stetson. She was riding a 4-year-old Paint Mustang, named Boomerang. Boomerang, or as Lee liked to call him, Boom, had been rounded up as a yearling on her parent's ranch 3 years earlier. Lee had taken an instant liking to the fiery young colt and her father made a deal with her, that if she could train the young horse, she could have him. Lee had jumped at the chance, and Boom had been well on his way to being one of the best horses on the ranch when a horrible accident had taken Lee's parents. Due to financial trouble, Mrs. and Mr. Jones had to have a meeting with the local banker. On the way back from town, a cougar spooked the horses that were pulling the wagon, and they bolted. One of the wheels hit a rock on the road, and the wagon crashed, breaking the wagon tongue, and freeing the horses from the wreck.

The cougar had previously killed one of the Jones' calves, and Lee was out with two ranch hands looking for it when they saw the runaway horses. Lee had sent one of the cowboys after the horses, while she and the other guy looked for the wagon. They found it in less than fifteen minutes by following the tracks made by the runaway horses but were too late to save Lee's parents.

Lee being the only relative anyone knew about, the ranch was left to her. It was very much in debt, and Lee had no choice but to sell it. She also sold all the stock except for Boom. Then she took the money that was left after paying back the bank, gotten on her horse, and left to start new somewhere else. That's how she got to Virginia City in the first place.

As she rode in, Lee was very aware of the questioning glances the citizens gave her, and she understood. A town this size probably didn't have many strangers visiting, and certainly, no young ladies dressed in what she was wearing, riding a worn out Mustang; packed saddle bags, but no pack horse.

A couple kids playing beside the road stopped to stare. The sheriff, crossing from an eating place to his office looked her over carefully, and the owner of the general store stopped sweeping the store's porch to watch her curiously.

Lee nodded to them all respectfully but with a bit of amusement clear on her face.

She walked Boom over to the livery, and dismounted, giving him a much-deserved rub on his neck.

"Can I help you?" A young man stepped out of the barn.

Lee looked up quickly. "Yes. Can I put my horse up here?"

"That's what I'm here for." The man said, looking her over curiously.

Lee led Boom into the barn and quickly unsaddled him. "My horse needs all the hay he can eat, water, oats, and a nice thick bed of straw. Maybe if he starts gettin' restless you can put him in a corral." She added as an afterthought, as she picked up a handful of straw and rubbed her sweaty horse down.

"OK, you can pay me when you collect him. The names Will Barnell, by the way."

"Lee Jones." Lee said, dropping the straw and firmly shaking the man's hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasures all mine." Barnell said, "You plannin' on stayin' in town long?"

"Haven't decided yet. Say, how is this town?" Lee asked curiously.

"My opinion is biased, of course, but I'd say we do pretty well here. We got a good sheriff, good people, well-stocked general store... A school house with a right smart school marm. Her name is Abigail Jones. You any relation?" Barnell worked while he talked, throwing down straw into a cleaned out stall, and hay into the manger.

"Never heard of her 'till today." Lee untied her saddle bags from her saddle, checked her guns, and slipped a halter on Boom. "How about ranching? Is there some good ranch land around here?"

"Sure there is." Barnell climbed down the ladder and poured oats into a bucket. "Cartwrights own most of it, though. They're nice enough people, but they sure fight for their land, if provoked. They did build up the Ponderosa from nothing though, and it means very much to them."

Lee absorbed this information in silence.

"Why, you in the ranchin' business?" Barnell said it as if it was a joke.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Lee asked, taking her hat off and running a hand through her hair.

"Nothin', I guess." Barnell shrugged, finished with getting the stall ready. "Just warnin' you; you don't want to get on the Cartwrights' bad side. As I said before, they're nice people, and I'd say tryin' to steal their land is the only way to get there, except for being an outright murderin' criminal. Which, you ain't?" He said the last bit like a question, and Lee chuckled.

"No, I'm not a murderer or criminal, much less both, and I'm not plannin' on stealin' their land, so let's hope I'll manage to stay on their good side."

Barnell's face relaxed a bit. "There's water out back, Ms. Jones."

"Thanks. And you can just call me Lee; wouldn't want to get confused with your school teacher." As Lee led Boomerang outside to the water trough Will mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "I bet you wouldn't!"

Lee let Boom drink desperately for a bit, then pulled his head up. "Can't let you drink too fast, kiddo." Lee scratched at the base of Boom's mane as he checked out the mares. "OK, go ahead." Lee gave him slack in the lead rope and leaned against his side as he drank again. "As soon as you're done drinking, I daresay you'll be hungry." Lee foresaw as she stared at the collection of horses in the corrals, and the people walking past on the street.

Boom finally lifted his dripping nose out of the water and dropped his head to nibble on some tender grass.

"You're as predictable as a rain storm when the sky is clouding up!" She laughed.

"Yep, horses have a way of being like that."

Lee spun around, and Boom shied at the fast movement. "Sorry, buddy." She soothed rubbing his neck until he relaxed. "Didn't hear you there." She explained to the big man who stood just outside the barn, waiting to water a sturdy horse.

The horse looked to Lee to be a Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred cross. The man looked like a first-degree giant, with big hands, arms and everything. His face, however, was what drew Lee's attention. His features were rugged but kind and gentle. Lee figured that this was what was called a gentle giant.

"Sorry about that." The man apologized.

"No problem." Lee moved Boom out of the way to make way for the man's horse.

"I'm Hoss Cartwright." The big man stuck out a giant hand as his horse drank his fill.

"Lee Jones." Lee shook his hand.

"That's a nice horse you got there," Hoss said. He had a gentle way about him, that instantly drew Lee to him.

"Thanks. Boomerang is a 4-year-old Mustang."

"He has nice conformation."

"Yes, he comes from good stock. You have a nice horse yourself," Lee asked.

"Yep," Hoss smiled. "'Call him Chubb. Kinda fits him." He gave a great big belly laugh. "You know your horses."

"I've been helping my pa train his horses since I was knee-high to a grasshopper," Lee explained.

"Where are your parents?" Hoss asked letting Chubb graze beside Boom.

"They died a couple of months ago." Lee avoided Hoss's gaze to look at Boom. She turned and started rubbing Boom's rapidly drying coat with a handful of hay.

Hoss nodded understandingly. "I'm mighty sorry to hear that, ma'am. They must have been wonderful people."

"Thank you. They were." Lee faced him. "I'd better put Boom away. It was nice talking to you, Mr. Cartwright."

"You just call me Hoss, Ms. Jones. My pa is Mr. Cartwright." Hoss had a way of waving his index finger around and scrunching up his nose when he explained things.

"And you can call me Lee," Lee answered, walk Boom back towards the barn.

"See you around, Lee," Hoss called to Lee's retreating back, then led Chubb over to one of the corrals, whistling a tune as he went.

Lee put Boom into his stall, nodded to Mr. Barnell, and stepped onto the sunny street.

She spied the sign for a saloon called "The Bucket of Blood", and decided to get some refreshments.

As she passed the general store, a man came out with a sack of flour easily slung over his shoulder. Lee's breath caught in her throat for a second. She hadn't met many men in her life who had that effect on her, but this one sure was one of the couple that had! His features were very ruggedly handsome, his black sideburns framed his face... which wore an annoyed expression. He was dressed in black: black boots, black pants, black shirt, and a black hat with silver studs. Even his gun belt was black.

The young man swung the sack onto the buckboard that stood in front of the store and turned to talk to the store owner.

As Lee walked past, she strained her ears to hear what they said.

"Did you see where Little Joe went off to?" The man asked.

"I saw him enter the saloon, Adam." The shopkeeper answered, an amused look on his face. From the look on Adam's face, Lee guessed that this happened quite a lot.

"Shoulda guessed." The man called Adam grumbled. "I'll go pick him up after I've finished loading the buckboard. What does my total come to Mr. Brown?"

By this time Lee was past the two men, and so she didn't hear Mr. Brown's answer.

As she walked towards the saloon, Lee felt Adam's gaze and quickened her stride a bit. She wasn't much for showing her feelings, and she certainly didn't want to appear desperate or something.

"I'm an idiot." She mumbled to herself in an amused manner, after overthinking the whole situation and made herself so nervous that her palms were sweating.

Then Lee stepped into the saloon.

Adam watched the girl walk past and felt that unmistakable flutter in his stomach. He felt his curiosity build, even more, when the girl dressed in men's clothes entered the saloon.

"Wonder what she wants in there." Mr. Brown said. Then when Adam didn't seem to hear him, "Adam?"

"What? Oh, sorry. What did you say, Mr. Brown?" Adam looked up startled.

Mr. Brown chuckled and shook his head.

"I think I'd, uh, better go get Little Joe!" Adam nearly tripped over his own feet as he hopped off the store's porch and strode towards the saloon.

Mr. Brown laughingly walked back into his store.

Adam stepped into the saloon just in time to witness the bartender giving the girl a beer without looking up, then noticing that the customer wasn't a man.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" The bartender demanded to know.

Lee took off her hat, letting her long auburn hair fall down her back. "Having a drink." She took a long gulp.

"Uh, ma'am."

Lee turned around. The young man talking to her had a shock of brown almost black hair falling over his green eyes. He had the tentative, polite look of a man who desperately wanted to help you out, but didn't know how to go about it.

"Ma'am. I think maybe, well, uh. You see, this is no place for a lady." The young man was obviously pretty uncomfortable just then.

"Joe." Lee and the young cowboy looked up at the same time, to see Adam striding up to the bar. "Let me handle this, Joe."

Joe graciously, and with a bit of relief, stepped back.

"Adam Cartwright." The man took off his right glove and held his hand out to the girl.

"I'm Kaylee Jones." Lee shook his hand. "You can just call me Lee though."

"Well, it's certainly very nice to meet you, Lee." Adam stared into her eyes, a peculiar smile on his face.

Lee suddenly found herself wishing she'd cleaned herself up a bit first. She'd always figured that if guys didn't like how she looked, they weren't worth thinking about, but Adam was a little different.

"And I'm Joe Cartwright." Joe stepped forward.

"I've met you two and Hoss, and I've heard about your pa. How many more Cartwrights are there?" Lee asked jokingly, tearing her gaze away from Adam.

"Our adopted brother Jamie is the last one. Jamie's 14." Adam smiled. "You look hungry. Do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Uh, sure. Sounds good." Lee drained her beer and left some money on the bar. Then she wiped her mouth and followed Adam out.

"Hi, Adam and Little Joe." A young boy stepped out of the store and walked towards them.

"Jamie, this is Ms. Lee Jones. Lee, my little brother." Adam introduced them.

"Nice to meet you, Jamie." Lee smiled at the tall boy. She had seen how happy Jamie looked when Adam called him his little brother and guessed that he hadn't been part of the family for a very long time yet. She'd also noticed Adam's older brotherly tone.

"You too Ms. Jones." Jamie hurriedly turned to Joe. "I found the perfect pocket knife at the mercantile. Can you come look at it?"

"Sure!" Little Joe said, looking almost as excited as Jamie, "Let's go!"

"Wait a minute." Adam grabbed Joe's arm, hauling him back. "You heard the regulations on the length of the blade?"

"Of course, older brother. Pa only explained it to us four times!"Joe stuck up four fingers in front of Adam's face with an annoyed expression on his face.

"You've been known to get carried away when picking out pocket knives before," Adam smirked.

Just then Hoss walked up. "Howdy Miss Lee, brothers."

"Hi, Hoss." Lee greeted him.

"Hoss. Just who I was looking for." Adam said. "Take Joe and Jamie back in the buckboard."

"But what about the horses?" Hoss asked, surprised.

"Tie them to rig. See you later brothers." Adam steered Lee away from the other Cartwright brothers.

Lee laughed softly.

"What are you laughing about?" Adam asked, looking down at her with a slight quirk in his lips.

"You and your brothers. You're pretty close aren't you?"

"I guess so. But what about you? Do you have any siblings? Where do you live?" Adam asked as they walked towards an eating place, called "Sally's".

"No, I don't have any siblings and my parents died in an accident a couple months ago. Cougar spooked the horses; wagon flipped." Lee answered quietly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Adam said, just as quietly. "My mother died as well."

"What happened?" Lee asked.

"She was sick even before I was born, and then after she was too weak to make it." Adam almost choked thinking about it.

"I'm so sorry, Adam." Lee grasped his arm. "I didn't mean to make you think about those times."

"It's alright. It's been so long..."

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but who is Joe's and Hoss's mother?"

"Pa met and married Inger on the way here, from New England, and Hoss was born. When I was six, she was... killed... in an Indian attack. Then Pa got to Nevada and started building our ranch, the Ponderosa. He was having trouble handling his grief, and so he went to New Orleans for a while. There he met Marie. She was Joe's mother. Marie was a beautiful, small French lady. She left us when her horse flipped over... on top of her. Those were some pretty hard times." Adam sighed.

"That's terrible! How did you handle all that?" Lee wondered.

"I went back east, to college. Majored in architecture and engineering. Kinda took my mind off things."

By now they had gotten to "Sally's", and Adam held the door open for Lee. "Sally." He called.

A blond girl wearing an apron came out of the kitchen. "Oh, hello. I didn't hear you come in, Adam." Turning to Lee, "I'm Sally Crawford. I own and run this place."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Jones." Lee said shaking her hand.

"Lee?" Sally asked.

"Well, actually Kaylee. I'm just usually called Lee."

"If you don't mind, I'll call you Kaylee. Please sit down." Sally said warmly.

Over a lunch of steak, potatoes, biscuits, and lots of gravy, Adam and Lee got to know each other a bit better.

When all the good food had been devoured, Adam got up and dug in his pocket.

"No, please." Lee quickly got up as well, "You've been so kind to me already; let me pay for the food."

"Only if you come have dinner with us this evening at the ranch." Adam invited in his quiet way.

"Uh," Lee started, not sure if she should accept, but drawn by Adam's smile. "Sure, yes, that sounds good!" She finally answered.

"Good!" Adam smiled down at her.

"What time should I be there?" Lee asked, feeling a little flustered.

"6:00 is good," Adam answered, a little amused by her uncomfortableness.

To escape his gaze, Lee quickly counted out money and put it on the table.

"Was everything satisfactory?" Sally came out of the kitchen to collect the dishes.

"Everything was amazing, Sally," Adam said.

"That's good to hear! Kaylee, How long are you planning on staying in town?"

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe only a couple of days, maybe the rest of my life." Lee shrugged. Her heart pounded a little faster when she noticed how Adam looked up when she said that.

Sally looked from Lee to Adam, and back to Lee, trying to hide a smile.

"Well, if you have time, you have to come visit me. I can introduce you to some friends, and we can buy you some dresses." Sally invited.

"Thanks, Sally, but I haven't worn a dress in, well, let's just say a very long time!" Lee said.

"Then it's high time you wear one again! See you later!" And Sally bustled off to the kitchen with the dishes.

"Well," Adam escorted Lee to the door. "I better be getting home; there's a lot of work to do. I guess I'll see you tonight." He rubbed the back of his neck, reminding Lee of what her father had always done when he was uncomfortable.

"I guess so. Are you sure it's not too much trouble?" Lee asked, cautiously.

"Oh no! Hop Sing, our famous cook, loves cooking for more people; as long as he has enough time to prepare enough!"

"If you say so." Lee smiled. "See you then." And she slowly walked away.

Adam smiled back and went to the livery to get his horse.

* * *

 **This is my first fanfic, so please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Cheers!**

 **Adam's Gurl**


	2. Dinner At The Cartwright's

After Adam left, Lee deposited the money she had with her at the bank, and strolled down to the land office. There she found out about an old ranch, that was being sold fairly cheaply. The records said that it had a fair amount of good ranch land; quite a few water sources, and both high and low country. That was good because, in the case of a dry season, the low land wouldn't be too dry, and in rainy seasons, the high country wouldn't be flooded.

Stepping back outside, Lee looked at the position of the sun. It was almost 3:00 already. An older lady with a kindly face nodded to Lee as she walked by. Lee nodded back and leaned against a hitching rail. Now she had to think about what she'd wear that evening. Of course, she didn't yet have anything to wear except for what she was wearing just then, but Sally had offered to help her out in that department... And she didn't really want to show up at the Ponderosa wearing her old work clothes...

Her mind made up, she walked over to "Sally's".

"Why, hello Kaylee." Sally greeted her.

"Hey, Sally. I, was just wondering if your offer still stands?" Lee asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Sally clapped her hands together excitedly. "I will be done for the day here pretty soon. Then we can go find you some beautiful clothes. Here, sit down" She motioned to a vacant table. "and tell me more about yourself!"

"Well, I was born and raised on a relatively small ranch, just south of Sierraville, California. I was an only child. Our neighbors were extremely close-minded people, and we kept to our work, mostly. For a very long time we didn't have a school, and when one was finally built, I didn't want to go. So my ma taught me at home. When I turned 19, though, I went to a fine college in Reno. Got a good education, and came back to help run the ranch. We couldn't afford more than two hands, but with our small herd, we didn't need more anyway. Then drought set in, and the few of that year's calves that survived were too scrawny to get a good price for. So we had to downsize to keep the place running. We had always been up to our necks in debt, and this was the last straw. We needed new fencing and the ranch house and barn were falling apart. So my parents tried to get another loan. They never gave up." Lee shook her head, sadly. "The bank didn't think giving a ranch that was pretty much broke a loan was a good idea, though. Then one day my parents were coming home from town, after trying to get the bank to change its mind when a cougar spooked the horses. They crashed and were dead by the time we found 'em." Here Lee paused to regain her composure and Sally, staring into her eyes, saw hurt, confusion, and guilt.

"The ranch was good as gone already... I guess... and I sold it. Sold all the stock except for my horse, gave the men their pay, and-" Lee swallowed hard. "-left. That's how I got here. With the money left after paying back the bank, I wanted to start new some place else. A place with nice people, good land, and good luck." She sighed, then looked up at Sally and smiled. "So far I've found the first two things I was looking for. Don't know about good luck, yet, but you can always hope."

Sally smiled, and squeezed Lee's hand, comfortingly.

"You've found good land?" She asked.

"Yes." Lee looked up, a little relieved that the subject of their conversation had changed. "Nothing definite yet, but the old Clarkson place looks pretty good."

"Yes, they did well there for a while. Then they left. Didn't tell anybody why. They weren't close with any of the town's people." Sally shrugged.

"Sally?" Lee asked shyly after a short pause in the conversation. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course!"

"Well, uh, are you married?"

"No. At least, not yet." Sally blushed a little, a happy smile spreading over her face. "I'm engaged to Will Barnell."

"I met Will when I put up my horse at the livery. He seems like a nice man."

"What about you?" Sally asked.

"I don't really know."

"You and Adam seemed to be pretty close." Sally hinted.

"We just met today." Lee objected weakly.

"How did you feel when you first saw him?" Sally questioned.

"As if I'd been punched in the stomach and run over by a herd of horses," Lee admitted.

Sally laughed. "I guess that's one way to describe it."

Then a customer came in, and Sally got up.

"Hey, Sally," Lee stopped her. "I'm free right now... could I help you?"

"Of course!" Sally said, looking genuinely happy, as they walked together to take the order.

Time passed very fast, and it seemed like Lee had been working with Sally for just a couple of minutes when the bell on the door rang, and a lady entered.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Sally. James got into some trouble at school, and I had to take care of that before I could come over." She explained.

"That's quite alright, Lydia." Sally got up. "Lydia, I would like you to meet Kaylee Jones. Kaylee, Lydia Smith helps me run this place."

"Nice to meet you, Lydia." Lee got up and shook hands with Lydia.

"You too, Kaylee." Lydia smiled.

The bell rang again, alerting them of another customer.

"You go on Sally." Lydia made a shooing motion with her hands. "It is my shift, after all. It was nice meeting you, Kaylee." And she walked off to seat the customer.

"That boy of her's sure gives her a lot of trouble!" Sally laughed. "But she loves him, and is happy to deal with his antics every now and then." She laughed again and shook her head. "Well, let's go!"

They walked over to store in companionable silence.

Mr. Brown looked up from the customer he was helping as they entered. He chuckled a little when he saw Lee.

"Be with you in a minute, Sally." Mr. Brown called, giving Lee a knowing grin. Lee felt her ears turn red, as she realized that the man must have noticed how captivated she and Adam had been with each other.

"What's happening?" Sally whispered to Lee as she looked back and forth from Mr. Brown's Cheshire cat grin to Lee's scarlet face, an almost-smirk on her face which told Lee that she had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"Uh, nothing." Lee quickly looked at some books on a shelf, trying to avoid Sally's grin.

"How can I help you ladies?" Mr. Brown walked over to them as his other customer walked out the door.

"We're looking for some clothes," Sally said pleasantly, trying to control her mirth.

"That's my wife's department. You can look around while I go find her." And Mr. Brown walked to the back of the store.

"Uh, Sally. I just thought I'd mention that I haven't worn a dress in forever, and, well..." Lee trailed off, just a little embarrassed.

"That's just fine! We'll figure it out. Might take a while though; do you have anything planned?" Sally asked slyly.

Lee panicked a little as she looked around for a clock. She finally found one on the wall. It read 4:30.

"Sally, can we do this in less than an hour?" She asked.

"That should work." Sally grinned. "Why? Where are you going?"

"What do you mean 'Where are you going?' I didn't say I was going anywhere." Lee defended herself, blushing even redder.

"Your face told me all about it." Sally teased.

"Okay, fine." Lee conceded. "Adam invited me to dinner at the Ponderosa."

"That's so great! We have to find you the perfect dress!"

"Uh, it'll have to be a riding skirt."

"Then we'll find you a beautiful skirt, blouse, and do something beautiful with your hair!"

Mrs. Brown walked up to them with a smile on her face. "Mr. Brown told me you ladies are looking for clothes?"

"Yes!" Sally said. "We're looking for a riding skirt and blouse for Kaylee here."

"Well, look around and let me know when you find something!"

Twenty minutes later, Lee stepped out of the changing room, looked into the full-length mirror, and fell in love with her outfit. She was wearing a brown riding skirt, light blue blouse with white flowers, and pinchy, black boots.

"You look amazing!" Sally grinned at her. "I know a certain someone who will be blown away! Now we just have to do your hair!"

Lee thanked Mrs. Brown, and paid for the new outfit, then followed Sally to her house.

"Now let's see," Sally said, after seating Lee in a chair in her living room. "I think you would look amazing with your hair up, and curly bangs framing your face!"

Another twenty minutes later, Sally finally pronounced Lee ready and walked with her to the livery to get Boom.

"Are you sure I'm not leaving too early?" Lee asked.

"You can't ride fast or you'll mess up your hair. I think you'll get there right on time!" Sally reassured her.

Lee took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach.

"You'll be fine, Kaylee."

"Yes, of course. Why shouldn't I be? Darn, why am I so nervous? I mean, it's just dinner... On the biggest ranch in Nevada... With the guy I'm in love with. Okay, that's not helping." Lee sighed.

"You'll be fine!" Sally repeated, laughing.

"Sally!" Will came out of the barn, a big smile on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping a friend." Sally leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

A big grin spread across his face, and Lee could only guess what Sally had told him.

"I'll go get your horse ready, Lee." Will said.

"Remember; he has to be spotless!" Sally instructed. Will nodded, grinned at Lee, and went to get Boom ready.

"Thank you so much for helping me, Sally!" Lee said gratefully.

"It was my pleasure! But you have to tell me all about it when you get back! Deal?"

"Deal!" Lee smiled.

A couple minutes later, Will led Boom outside.

"Ready to go, handsome?" Lee asked Boom. Boom sniffed the air and nudged her as if to check if it was actually her under all those new clothes. "Yeah, it's me." She swung into the saddle and waved to Sally and Will.

Boom jumped directly into a lope like he was used to, but Lee, remembering what Sally had said about her hair, slowed him to a smooth trot. She didn't have any trouble finding the Ponderosa; there were loads of "NO TRESPASSING" signs, as soon as she entered. Then after riding along for a couple of minutes, a cowboy came riding towards her. He'd drawn his gun, but as soon as he realized Lee was a lady, he hurriedly put it away.

"What are you doing on Ponderosa land, ma'am?" He asked coming straight to the point.

"My name is Lee Jones. I'm expected." Lee explained.

"Oh, yes. Ms. Jones. I'm Canaday. Everybody just calls me Candy, though." Candy held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Candy." Lee shook his hand.

"Adam asked me to escort you to the house. Right this way ma'am." He turned his horse around.

"Please, just call me Lee," Lee called as they rode on at a trot.

Candy nodded in response.

They rode onto the yard, and Lee took everything in appreciatively. To the right was a good sized barn, with a corral in front of it. Straight ahead, was the big ranch house. To the left of the house were trees, and to the right were more corrals and the bunkhouse.

"Adam." Candy called into the house.

The door opened, and Adam stepped out, followed by Hoss, Joe, and an older man with gray hair.

Lee swung out of Boom's saddle, just as Adam reached her.

"You look amazing, Lee!" Adam smiled at her.

Behind him, the gray-haired man cleared his throat, and Lee and Adam both took a step back.

"Uh, Pa. This is Ms. Kaylee Jones. Lee, my father, Ben Cartwright."

"It's certainly a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jones," Ben said warmly. "I've heard so much about you."

"Likewise, Mr. Cartwright." Lee smiled and shook his hand. "And please, call me Lee."

"All right, Lee." Ben offered his arm, and Lee took it, letting Ben lead her inside. Adam fumed, while Little Joe giggling.

"Aw shut up, _Little_ Joe. Griff! Put Ms. Jone's horse away!" Adam bellowed.

"Yes, sir!" The young, curly haired ex-convict-turned-cowboy came running. He grabbed Boom's reins and saluted Adam.

"Very funny." Adam scowled, turned on his heel, and strode towards the house.

"What the hell happened to him?" Griff pushed back his hat, as he watched Adam leave.

"Oh, nothing much," Joe said nonchalantly. "Pa just stole his girlfriend, is all. Hehehe!" And he and Hoss followed their older brother inside, leaving a very puzzled Griff standing there with Boom's reins in his hand.

"Jamie!"Ben called.

"Yes Mist- I mean, Pa?" Jamie was sprawled on the settee, reading a book.

"For one thing, get your boots off the settee, and then come greet our guest," Ben ordered, a small smile threatening to wipe the stern expression off of his face when he heard the boy call him Pa.

"Yes, sir." Jamie swung his feet onto the floor, and put the book down, before walking over. "Oh, hi Ms. Jones."

"Hi, Jamie. We met in town." Lee explained to Ben.

Ben nodded. "I'll go and see if dinner is ready."

"Make yourself at home." Jamie invited.

"Thanks." Lee sat down on the settee. "What are you reading?"

"'The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin.'"

"Nice! I used to read all the time; Huck was one of my favorite fictional characters." Lee smiled, remembering the time when she would stay inside all day, nose buried in a book. That had been before the ranch had started going downhill, though.

"You _used_ to read all the time?" Jamie question broke through her reminiscing.

"I've been moving around a lot lately, and I couldn't really take my books along. And the last couple of years I had to work hard on the ranch, so I didn't have much time for books." Lee explained.

"But now you're gonna live in Virginia City, so you have to get books again!" Jamie jumped up. "Stay there. I'll be right back!" With those words he ran up the stairs, taking them two-at-a-time.

Lee watched him go, a smile on her face.

Just then, Adam, Hoss, and Joe came back inside.

"Jamie seems to have takin' a likin' to you, Lee." Joe sat down in the big, red chair in front of the fireplace.

Lee smiled and was about to answer when Ben came back.

"Dinner is almost ready."

"Just wait 'till you taste the food, Ms. Jones. Hop Sing is the best dang cook west of the Mississipi!" Hoss promised, licking his lips.

Jamie came thundering down the stairs, with an arm full of books.

"You can take these books, Ms. Jones." He said, giving them to Lee. "I've already read them all, so you don't have to give them back."

"Oh, thanks, Jamie!" Lee looked down at the books, in happy surprise.

"Here, let me take them." Adam graciously took the books from Lee and put them on the coffee table.

The small Chinese cook hurried into the room. "Dinner ready, Mista Cawrtlight."

Adam offered Lee his arm. Lee took it, and let Adam lead her to the table.

Ben sat down at the head of the table, and Adam pulled out the chair to his father's right, for Lee. Then he sat down beside her, as Hoss, Joe, and Jamie quickly seated themselves.

Hop Sing served the food.

Lee was about to dig in when Adam quickly nudged her with his knee. Lee looked up in surprise and saw all five men sitting there with bowed heads and folded hands. She hurriedly copied their position, and Ben said a short blessing over the food.

"So Lee," Ben said after they had all said Amen. "I hear your parents were ranchers?"

"Uh yes," Lee said. She looked at Adam out of the corner of her eye, wondering how much he'd told them about her. "They ran a ranch, just south of Sierraville, California. I'm planning on doing the same, here."

"Oh?" Ben asked. "Are you married? I mean, is there someone to help you run it?"

"No, just me," Lee said, hoping nobody would say that only men were fit for that kind of work. Nobody did, and she relaxed a little.

"Well, if you do need help with anything, we'd be happy to help out." Ben offered.

"Thanks," Lee said, looking around the table. Hoss was focusing more on his stew than the conversation; Joe was trying not to stare at her, and probably wondering how such a pretty girl could run a ranch on her own, and Jamie seemed quite open to the idea. Ben looked just a little skeptical; there were a couple of lady ranchers in the area, but they were mostly older ladies who had taken over after their husbands died, and none of them was trying to make it totally alone. Adam looked almost amused at his family's skepticism. From what he'd seen of Lee, he figured she was a pretty strong woman, both physically and mentally, and very much qualified to run her own ranch. That didn't mean he wouldn't help her, though!

"Are you planning on ranching cattle or horses?" Adam asked, reaching for another piece of bread.

"Cattle are gonna be my main focus, but I might raise some horses as well," Lee said, heaping more potatoes on her plate.

"Well, you should be able to get cattle hereabouts, and there's quite a few mustang herds up in the higher country," Joe said, helpfully.

Lee nodded her thanks.

After they'd finished all the stew and potatoes, Hop Sing cleared the table and set a big piece of chocolate cake in front of each of them.

"Thank you, Hop Sing!" Hoss happily dug into the cake. The others followed with just a little less gusto.

"Where are you going to stay until you find a place, Lee?" Ben asked.

"Probably the hotel." Lee shrugged as if she hadn't thought about it very much.

"It's pretty late already..." Adam said looking out the window at the rapidly going down sun. "Why don't you stay here?"

Lee's heart started pounding a little. "'If you're sure it's not too much trouble?"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" Ben assured her quickly.

"Well, then, thank you!" Lee said gratefully.

"I'll go ask Hop Sing to get the guest room ready." Ben got up and went to find Hop Sing.

"Hey, Joe?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah kid?" Joe looked over at the curly-haired boy.

"What do you know about geometry?"

"Why, I was always called the king of math."

"Great!" Jamie jumped up and ran up the stairs to his room where a big pile of homework was waiting, Joe hot on his heels.

Just then Candy came busting in. "Adam, Hoss. There's trouble out in the bunkhouse."

"I'll be right back, Lee," Adam promised, grabbing his hat and running out the front door with Hoss.

Ben came back. "I have some paperwork to do here. Make yourself at home." He invited, as he sat down behind his desk in the part of the room that seemed to be the office.

"Thank you," Lee said. She wandered out to the front porch and sat down on the porch swing. She watched the horses milling out in the corrals, and the dragonflies coming out. She was so mesmerized by watching the night life that dared wander close to the humans, that she didn't hear Adam come up behind her.

"Sure is beautiful isn't it." Adam was no more than a foot away, and Lee jumped straight up in surprise. She spun around, the expression on her face slowly changing from surprise to amusement, to annoyance at being surprised like that.

"Scared you?"

She sat back down, turning her back to Adam. "Of course not!"

Then she felt Adam's warm breath on her ear. "Liar!" He breathed.

Lee giggled at the tickly feeling.

"Uhhh," Adam walked around and sat down beside Lee. "The lady be-ith ticklish." He said it in the way he would recite Shakespeare.

"Uhhh. The lord be-ith annoying." Lee copied him with a sly grin.

Adam smiled as if declaring a truce.

"How'd you get here without me noticing?" Lee wanted to know.

"Snuck in through a back door."

They sat without saying anything for a couple of minutes. The night was starting to get chilly, and Lee shivered a little. Adam, being the gentleman he was, quickly took off his coat and put it around Lee's shoulders.

"Thanks." Lee blushed a little as she pulled it around herself.

"I'm riding out to look at the Clarkson place tomorrow. You wouldn't happen to have nothing else to do for a couple of hours in the morning?" Lee asked after a couple more minutes of companionable silence.

"For you, me lady, I shall strive to get some valuable hours off," Adam promised.

"In other words, you have tomorrow off?" Lee grinned.

"Thou seath right through me." Adam sighed theatrically, and Lee laughed out loud.

"I guess we'd better get to bed." Lee sighed.

"Guess so. Uh, should I send somebody to get your stuff from town?"

"No; I don't have anything to be picked up. Thanks though." Lee answered.

"Okay." Adam got up. He saw Lee to her room, then he said goodnight to his pa and went to bed himself.


	3. Looking At The Clarkson Ranch

_**AN I**_ **keep confusing Kaylee with Karlee. Her name is supposed to be Kaylee, just so you know. I'm really sorry for the confusion. Thank you to all the amazing reviewers! You guys keep me going! And sorry it's taking me so long to get chapters out there! Please let me know if you have any ideas on where this should go! I didn't have a lot of time to check everything.**

 ** _/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\_**

Lee woke up at first light the next morning. She lay still for a minute, trying to figure out where she was. Then she saw a picture of the Cartwrights on the wall, and the happenings of the day before came flooding back. She focused on Adam's smiling face and smiled as well, suddenly excited to get up. She swung her legs off the bed, and got up, ignoring the wave of dizziness that washed over her. She made the bed and tidied herself a bit in front of the mirror. Before going to bed the day before, she'd braided her hair. She now opened the one long braid and made two instead. She pulled on her boots, and quietly opened the door. She tiptoed down the hall, and down the stairs. The last step creaked a bit, causing Hop Sing to come out of the kitchen.

He smiled when he saw her. "Missy want morning coffee?" He invited.

"Thanks, Hop Sing, but I have to quickly ride into town and get some things," Lee explained. "Can you tell Adam that I'll be back in, say, two and a half hours?"

"Hop Sing do that. Be back in time fo' breakfast, or you no get any." Hop Sing ordered.

"I will, Hop Sing. I wouldn't miss eating your amazing cooking for anything!"

Hop Sing smiled at the compliment, a pleased look on his face.

Lee opened the door and went out to the barn. Boom was parading around in the small corral right in front of the barn and whinnied when he saw her.

She grabbed the halter and lead rope from the fence and climbed into the pen. "Ready to go, buddy?" Boom walked right up to her and held still long enough for Lee to put the halter on. "You must be excited to get going!" She laughed.

Lee opened the gate and led Boom out of the corral. A sudden gust of wind swept the gate against the young stud as he was walking through. He had been cooped up in a small pen all night, and the anxiety from that put together with the fright of something metal slamming against him was just too much for the high-strung stallion to handle. He reared up in the air and tried to bolt as soon as he came back down.

Lee had stepped back to get out of reach of Boom's flailing hooves, but as soon as he touched the ground again, she quickly stepped beside his left shoulder, pulling his head with the lead rope, and pushing against his barrel with her body. This resulted in Boom turning in small circles until he got his emotions under control. When Lee felt Boom relax a bit, she stopped spinning him, and led him around a bit, getting him listening to her again. Then she rubbed his neck and led him into the barn. All this happened in a matter of seconds, but Lee having a lot of experience with young horses had acted confidently.

Lee was tying Boom to a rail in the barn, when all of a sudden, "That was quite a show out there." She turned around quickly and saw a curly-haired cowboy leaning against one of the stalls. "Hi. I'm Griff King. I work here." He introduced himself.

"I'm Lee Jones."

"Yeah, I know. Candy told me." Griff explained quickly, seeing her confusion. "That's a nice horse."

"Yeah." Lee rubbed Boom's neck.

"Where'd you learn to handle horses like that? I mean, I like to think I know a lot about them, but I could never have acted so quickly and confidently."

"I've been working horses since I was 12," Lee explained, getting her saddle, blanket, and bridle from the tack room. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm still the new guy here, so I get to get up an hour earlier than all the other hands to round up the horses. Nice, isn't it?" Griff pretended to pout.

Lee laughed. "Charming." She swung the saddle up on top of the blanket on Boom's back. Then Lee reached under Boom's barrel to grab the girth, and carefully tightened it while Boom tried to dance sideways.

"Well, I better get the horses rounded up. I'll see you around, Lee."

Lee returned his smile and rode off of the yard as Griff went to get his tack. She loped all the way to town and changed into her normal clothes at Sally's house, while Boom rested a bit. Then she returned to the ranch having been gone less than two and a half hours. For most horses, the ride would have taken two and a half to three hours, but Boom was a very well conditioned horse and had very good endurance.

After tying Boom to the hitching rail, Lee walked into the house. Adam was sitting in his blue chair, reading a book.

"Good morning, Adam." Lee unbuckled her gun belt and hung it on a hook with her hat.

"Good morning, Lee. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did, thank you," Lee answered, sitting down on the settee. "Did you?"

"Thank you, I did," Adam said.

Lee asked what he was reading.

"This is a book about the U.S. cavalry. It's very interesting." Adam said.

Not knowing what else to do, Lee smiled and nodded. Her left hand involuntarily went to the leather bracelet she wore on her right wrist and started playing with it. This was an old habit of hers; she always did that when she was feeling uncomfortable.

Adam noticed and was about to say something when a yawning Joe came down the stairs.

"Good morning, Little Joe." Adam grinned at his tired brother, while Lee echoed his greeting.

"Morning Lee, brother." Joe yawned again, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Did you sleep well?" Adam asked, hiding his grin behind his book.

"Well, what does it look like," Joe said it more like a statement than a question and sat down beside Lee.

Then the door opened, and Hoss and Jamie came in from doing chores, at the same time that Ben came down the stairs.

"Good morning everybody!" Ben greeted everybody with his usual warm smile. "I hope you slept well, Lee."

"I did, thank you," Lee said politely.

Breakfast was ready, so they ate quickly. Lee was still uncomfortable, but as soon as she and Adam started on the ride to the Clarkson Ranch with a lunch that Hop Sing had packed, she started relaxing and moving more freely with Boom's lope.

Adam noticed and decided Lee was probably more comfortable around horses than people.

They soon got in sight of the ranch and slowed their horses to a trot.

Lee stopped Boom at the top of a ridge and looked down on the ranch yard. "Does anybody still live here?"

"No." Adam moved his hat back on his forehead. "The Clarksons left quite a long time ago. The buildings aren't in very good condition, but the land itself is pretty good."

Lee rubbed Boom's neck, as she surveyed the area. As Adam had said, the little ranch house and the two bunkhouses were pretty old and would need quite a bit of fixing up. On the right side of the house, were the bunkhouses and a corral big enough to be used for breaking horses and branding cattle. To the left was a barn with another, smaller corral in front of it. A good-sized river fed into a small, albeit beautiful, lake at the foot of the ridge, and continued on through lush pasture in the foothills of the hilly high country.

Lee nodded appreciatively as she looked on. The place looked really good, albeit old, and her breath caught in excitement as her brain went into overdrive, thinking about everything she could do with this place.

Filled with a sudden feeling of excitement, Lee urged Boom forward with a whoop.

Adam grinned, and they loped down the ridge together. It was steep enough that the horses had to give where they were putting their feet their whole attention. Adam and Lee grinned simultaneously, feeling the power in every stride.

When they reached the bottom, neither of them slowed their horses; instead urged them on at a gallop, all the way to the bridge over the river. Going over the wood made loud, hollow sounds that scared most horses, so Adam slowed Sport to a careful trot, Lee following suit.

At the house, Lee dismounted and looked around for a hitching rail. The only one around looked like a sudden gust of wind would blow it down.

Adam motioned to the trees off to one side of the house. "We can tie the horses over."

Lee nodded her agreement. After Boom and Sport were tied, Lee and Adam started exploring. The house's porch creaked a bit when they stepped on it, but Lee for one was glad it didn't collapse. They stepped over the door on the floor and looked at what looked like the living room. There was a chair in front of a small, but still in good condition, fireplace, which looked like it might have been cosy a while ago. Beside the door were a couple of hooks for hats and gun belts, and when Lee turned to look over the door, she saw a pair of antlers nailed to the wall to hold a rifle.

They walked further into the room, looking around. An old cabinet close to the stairs needed dusting very badly, and the cupboard on the other wall still held old, cracked China. Over the fireplace hung an old picture of three people. Upon studying it more closely, Lee found the two men in the picture to look similar enough to be twins. The woman standing beside one of them had permanent worry wrinkles on her forehead, her eyes were sad and sunken, and she looked like hard times had made her older than she should be.

They walked on through a door on the left and came to the dining room. The table in the middle was broken, as were the three chairs, but all this was stuff that you could easily fix. In the kitchen beside it, was an old stove, and counters along two walls. A dirty window with broken glass showed a beautiful view of the high-country and the river. The buildings were on a bit of a rise, so not only was flooding not an issue, but you could see quite a bit from one spot.

A second door led them back into the living room, and they now started up the stairs.

"Watch your feet." Adam, in the lead, cautioned as he tested each step before putting his whole weight on it. It was creaky but seemed to have been built pretty sturdily. If it hadn't, it would probably have been wrecked by now.

At the top was a hall going past the stairs. The hall went along the outer wall and started in the corner. Adam and Lee walked past the first door. Straight ahead, was another room, and the hall turned left. There were two more rooms here. They explored the rooms one by one. One seemed to be an office, with a desk to work at and a safe in the wall. The next three were bedrooms, each had a dresser and a bed, neither of which looked strong enough to hold anything.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us!" Adam said, grinning at the challenge.

"Yep." Lee tried to keep her face emotionless, even though she wondered why Adam had said "we" and "us.

* * *

 **TBC**


	4. A Wonderful Surprise

"So how are the renovations at your place going?" Ben asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

It had been about a week since Lee bought the small ranch and they were having a special dinner to celebrate Lee's moving to her own place the next day.

"Very good, Mr. Cartwright. We're moving ahead faster than expected. I'll be looking to buy some stock soon." Lee answered.

"We can provide those," Joe said.

"That's right. We have some good, older cows for sale."

"How old?" Lee asked. She knew that it was better to start out with older cows instead of heifers, but she didn't want cows that were too old.

"About four or five years. A couple calvings already behind them." Ben said.

"Sounds good." Lee was silent for a minute. "I just want to thank all of you for all your help and for letting me stay here. Y'all have been very kind to me!"

"It was our pleasure." Adam quickly said, putting his hand over hers.

Lee felt herself go a little red. "I still feel indebted to you; if there is ever anything I can do to pay you back, just let me know." She tried to ignore the little smirk on Joe's face, as she looked around the table again, trying to express just how grateful she was.

"Like Adam said, it was our extreme pleasure." Ben smiled reassuringly at Lee, trying to make her feel a little more at ease. He cleared his throat and got up. "Let's have our coffee in the living room, shall we?"

Adam helped Lee up, and the boys made their way to the living room.

"Uh, will you excuse me?" Lee asked. She desperately needed to go outside to be alone with her thoughts.

"Of course, Lee." Ben granted quickly, his brow furrowing as she quickly left.

Outside, Lee hurried to the barn where Boom was stalled.

Boom blew through his nose when he saw her and continued munching on his hay.

"Hey, buddy." Lee murmured softly as she slipped into his stall. "Look what I got here. I managed to sneak you a carrot from the dinner table."

Boom smelled the carrot immediately and nudged Lee, trying to get at it.

Lee laughed a little. "Alright, hold your horses. Here it is." She slipped it out of her pocket and broke off a piece to feed to her eager companion.

"I probably shouldn't have just left like that. It was impolite." She continued murmuring. "The dinner was in honour of me, after all. But I just couldn't stay. I don't know what it is... No. I think I do. You see, Boom, I always feel like this around people I care for. Strangers are a different story, as what they think isn't that important. I know this sounds silly, but it's how I feel, and I can't very easily change it. You see, I... care for the Cartwrights, but I'm scared they won't like me depending on what I do, even though I guess I know better. It's worse... with... Adam." There. Lee finally said it out loud. "If I'm scared of messing up in front of the other Cartwrights, then I'm perfectly terrified of doing anything stupid in front of Adam. I don't know... I think I... love... him, but I just don't know. I don't know what to do! I think he might feel something for me too, but maybe he's just being kind to a poor girl who recently lost her parents and is-" She choked. "all alone in the world." She pressed her face against Boom's firm neck, letting the tears run down her face as she breathed in the wonderfully steadying horse smell.

"You're not all alone in the world," The gentle voice behind her made her jump, and she recognized Adam's voice with a start.

Thinking to herself a couple words that would have made her mother pale, Lee hurriedly brushed away her tears, keeping her back to Adam.

"Kaylee. You are not alone in this world." Adam repeated. "I'm here for you, and I will be forever, you have my whole family, Sally, her fiancee... Heck, the whole town is supporting you."

It was true. Lee had made a very good impression on the people in town and had already made a good many friends.

But that wasn't what Lee was thinking about. She was running Adam's words 'and I will be forever' through her head, again and again.

"Do you really mean that?" Lee finally turned around, trusting the shadows of the dark barn to hide her tearful face.

"Yes, Lee. I swear. With all my heart and being!" Adam enveloped Lee in his arms. "First time I saw you, I think I knew." He whispered into her hair.

"You really feel it? You're not just saying all that?" Lee asked, looking earnestly up into his eyes.

"Yes, I really do feel it." Adam smiled gently.

"You must think I'm so silly." Lee buried her head in Adam's chest again.

"No, I don't. I think – no – I _know_ that you are perfect, and I wouldn't want you any other way than the way you are. And I know for a fact that my family feels the same way."

Lee didn't know what to say as that feeling swelled up in her chest, and she felt the incredible bond she shared with this man.

"I love you." Adam murmured.

"I love you more." Lee matched his oh so gentle smile as she raised her face again to stare into his soulful eyes.

"That would be hard." Adam chuckled, and, leaning forward, pressed his lips to hers.

 **|~~~~~Bonanza~~~~~|**

The next morning, Lee and Adam headed off to Lee's place, the back of the wagon filled with furniture and food readied by Hop Sing, as the rest of the family waved goodbye.

Lee kept her eyes on her hands, trying to avoid Adam's gaze. She felt a little uncomfortable after what happened last evening, and she didn't know how Adam felt. She worried that he might be having second thoughts, even after the heartfelt speech the night before. She couldn't help it – she was the kind of person who needed reassurance in these matters all the time, or she'd start having doubts.

"No," Adam said, turning his eyes back to the road, as he felt Lee's questioning gaze.

"What?"

"No. I don't regret it even the tiniest bit." Adam said firmly.

"Not even when Candy walked in?" Lee giggled as she remembered what had happened.

"Well, maybe that part, but how was I supposed to know that Candy would come walking in at that otherwise perfect moment?" Adam chuckled too.

There was silence for a minute, then Lee leaned her head against Adam's shoulder.

Adam looked down at her, a warm smile etched on his face.

Pulling up in front of the house, Adam hopped down from the buckboard seat and helped Lee down.

"I'll put Boom and Sport away," Lee said, motioning to the horses who stood, tied behind the wagon.

"Alright. I'll start bringing furniture inside." Adam tied the horses to the hitching rail and got to work on the things.

Lee unsaddled Boom and put him into the corral. The saddle she swung onto the fence for later use and rested her chin on the leather for a minute to watch the stallion frisking around the large enclosure.

Her name being called pulled Lee from her thoughts, and she quickly headed to the house.

"Where do you want all these?" Adam asked, leaning against a chair in his classic pose as he swept his arm around the room to include all the things that Lee had bought or been given by the Cartwrights.

"Let me see." Lee looked around the room. "Let's put the settee over here..."

A few hours later, Lee sat down on her new settee a little breathlessly. "I think we're finally, kind of, almost done, Adam."

Adam laughingly sat down beside her. "I think you're right. Now, I'm going to get that picnic basket Hop Sing prepared for us. Don't know about you, but I could eat a horse right now!"

"If you can eat a horse, then I can eat a whale, except that I don't like seafood so I'll take three bison instead."

Chuckling at her reasoning, Adam went into the kitchen where the picnic basket had been stowed.

They ate outside, sitting on the soft green grass, eating the sandwiches that had been made for them.

"Your intense hunger satisfied yet?" Adam teased.

"Oh no." Lee quickly answered. "I still need a big piece of this chocolate cake!" She licked her lips as she reached for a piece of the chocolatey goodness. "I wonder how Hop Sing knew that this was my favourite cake?"

"Chocolate cake is your favourite?"

"Yep!"

"It's mine too." Adam grinned.

Lee looked at him for a minute, a small smile playing at the edges of her mouth, before she sunk teeth into the cake.

Adam laughed and reached for a piece too.

They ate in silence, and when the generous portions of cake had been finished, the two of them stayed on the grass, just admiring the view.

Adam chanced a look at Lee and chuckled.

"What?"

"You, uh, have some chocolate on your cheek."

"I do?" Lee put her hand to her cheek, intent on wiping away the offending substance, but she couldn't find it.

"Here, uh, let me help you, me lady." Adam smiled, gently reaching over to wipe it off her cheek with a napkin.

"Thank you, my lord," Lee said as his hand lingered there for a little longer than needed.

Lee blushed and looked down at her lap.

Adam watched her, an amused look on his face. She was cute when embarrassed.

"We'd better get going," Lee said, avoiding his eyes.

"Suppose so," Adam agreed, helping her clean up. Then he stopped, a confused look on his face, "Why, where are we going? We finished in the house, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Lee nodded.

"Then let's go for a ride; it helps settle the stomach," Adam said, grinning at her.

"Alright," Lee said, smiling back at him.

When the horses were saddled, the two of them set out to explore Lee's ranch land. Riding over it gave Lee a happy, excited feeling in her stomach. She couldn't believe that she owned her own ranch, and couldn't wait to buy stock to graze all the overgrown, but beautiful, fields.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Adam asked, looking at her with a knowing look.

"Very. I've never felt like this before!"

"I know how you feel, to some extent. I remember when Pa first bought the portion of land that would grow to become the Ponderosa. I was young at the time, but it was very exhilarating for me, helping with the building and all." Adam said.

"Yeah, I can see where it would be."

They rode in silence for a while, until the soft sound of rushing water drew their attention. Breaking through the trees, Lee gasped at the sight and pulled Boom to a stop. Beside her, Adam looked pleasantly surprised, then he smiled and stopped Sport as well.

In front of them, from a wall of rock, gushed a small waterfall. It cascaded into a quaint pool and fed a stream which would eventually lead to the main river.

"Wow." Lee breathed, taking in the sight of the clear water, leaping into the beautiful pond. So clear that you could see every stone the ground consisted of. "This place is gorgeous."

"It sure is, my lady," Adam said, using his favourite term of endearment as he dismounted and helped Lee off of her horse.

"Thank you, my lord."

They went and sat on the green grass at the water's edge, enjoying the feeling of the tinkling water splashing them.

"I had no idea this place was here," Lee said, staring at the beautiful sight.

"I've never seen it before, myself," Adam answered.

"But I'm happy this is here," Lee said. "It makes this place just so much more special."

Adam agreed.

* * *

 **AN** It's been a while, but I'm back and I think/hope the next chapters won't be too long in coming! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far!

TBC


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